Apparatus for handling small articles



Feb. 16, 1965 L GORAN, JR 3,169,652

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING SMALL ARTICLES Original Filed July 20, 1959 LEOGORA N, JR.

OLSEN AND STEPHENSON ATTORNEYS United States Patent APPARATUS FGR LINGSMALL ARTEQLES Leo Goran, In, Madison Heights, Mich, assignor to Avisindustrial Corporation, Aimout, Mich, a corporation of DelawareApplication May 26, 196i), Ser. No. 31,953, now Patent No. 3,063,213,dated Nov. 13, 1962, which is a division of application Ser. No.828,143, July 20, 1959. Elvided and this application July 27, 1962, Ser.No.

The present invention relates to apparatus for receiving small coilsprings and similar articles from a coil spring forming or dispensingmachine for storage, transportation or subsequent assembly operations,and for introducing such articles automatically into products requiringtheir presence. This application is a division of application Serial Numer 31,953, filed May 26, 1960, now Patent No. 3,063,213 and the latterapplication is a division of application Serial Number 828,143, filedJuly 20, 1959.

In the manufacture of such products as coil springs, the normalprocedure is to deposit the newly formed coil springs in containerswhere they generally become interlocked causing subsequent diinculty indisengaging them. In production operations, Workers are then required todisengage the coil springs and feed them singly to workpieces where thesprings are required. This is particularly true in the manufacture ofsuch products as locks of the type having key plugs wherein coil springsare used in chambers housing the plurality of lock pins.

The present invention provides apparatus to overcome the handling andstorage problems that exist in connection with prior methods of formingand using coil springs and the like, and provides apparatus whereby thecoil springs are assembled in alimied positions in flexible containersfor transportation, storage and subsequent feeding operations, therebysubstantially reducing handling operations in connection with thesprings. The present invention also provides apparatus for receiving andfeeding coil springs and the like into a relatively long flexible tubeadapted to have its ends closed for retaining coil springs loadedthereiuto.

It is an object of the presentinvention to provide apparatus forunloading coil springs singly from a relatively long flexible tubing ofthe foregoing character into which the coil springs have been inserted.

it is still another object of the present invention to pro- 2 Claims.

vide apparatus for removing coil springs and the like singly and insequence from said flexible tubing and conveying each such coil'springin proper alignment to a product for insertion thereinto.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following descriptionand appended claims, reference being bad to the accompanying drawingsforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view partially in section with portions enlargedfor illustration purposes showing apparatus for receiving and insertingcoil springs in alignment into a flexible plastic tube;

FIGURE 2 is another schematic view partially in section with portionsenlarged illustrating apparatus for carrying out steps of operation inunloading coil springs from a flexible plastic tube and inserting one ofsuch coil springs into akey plug adapted to utilize such springs;

ranged to simultaneously insert coil springs into each EJ691552 PatentedFeb. 16, 1365 of the'coil spring compartments in a conventional keyplug.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement or" parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

Referring now to the drawings, the invention will be described ingreater detail. Attention is directed first to FIGURE 1 in connectionwith which the apparatus for loading coil springs into a flexibleplastic tube Will be described. A machine it} which either forms ordispenses coil springs 12 has a discharge duct 14 to which is connectedthe inlet end of an air propelling device 16. Connected to the outletend of the air propelling device 16 is a flexible plastic tube assembly13 wherein the tube 2 9 has an internal diameter slightly larger thanthe external diameter of the coil springs 12 and is normally left in acoiled position during a loading operation.

The air propelling device 16 has a series of impeller units 22, threebeing shown, which are coaxially aligned and are constructedsubstantially the same. Therefiore, only the first of the series ofimpeller units 22 will be described in detail, and it will be understoodthat the remaining impeller units are similarly constructed andarranged. The number of such impeller units that are required dependsupon the impedance of air flow through the tube 29, which will varydepending upon such factors as the dimensions and the physicalproperties of the tube 29, the impedance of air flow created by the coilsprings, and the like.

The first impeller unit 22 has a body portion 24 with a hollow bore 25which converges at its lower end to the outlet duct 28. Threadedlyconnected to the body portion 24 is a cap portion 39 which has a duct 32ooaxially aligned but spaced from the outlet duct 28 to form therewith athrough passageway. The cap portion 30 projects into the hollow bore 26at 34 and together with the body portion 24 defines an annular chamber36 surrounding the through passageway. The projection 34 is closelyspaced to the converging lower end of the bore 26 to provide an annularpassageway 38 communicating between the chamber 36 and the throughpassageway formed by ducts 28 and 32. The annular passageway 38 isdirected toward the outlet end of the impeller unit 22 for a reason tobe explained. Connected with the first impeller unit 22 is an airconduit ll? which is in direct communication with the chamber 36 so asto introduce air under pressure thereinto. Such air can then flow athigh velocity through the annular passageway 38 into the throughpassageway toward the outlet end of the first impeller unit 22.

The remaining impeller units 22 are similarly connected to the airconduit 41?, and all of these impeller units 22 are suitably'supported,such as by the bracket 42 in spaced relation so as to provide air escapegaps at 44 and 45, and also at 43 between the last impeller unit '22andthe annular ring 5% connected to the inlet end of the tube 26 Air gapsare necessary between impeller units to prevent a reversal in directionof flow of air in the passagewayswhich would occur in the absence ofsuch air gaps because of excessive air pressures created on thedownstream end of the air propelling device '16 relative to theupstreamend thereof. 'I hese air'gaps normally are arranged to becomeprogressively smaller With the r rst air gap 44 being largest and airgap 48 being smallest. This progressive arrangement is desirablqbecausethe air pressure in the through passageways progressively increases atthe discharge end of each impeller unit 22 relative to the external airpressure, and since it is desirable to eliminate the same amount of airat the gaps, they necessarily must diminish progressively in effectivecross sections. Also, for the purpose of preventing snag ing of :thecoil springs at these air gaps, the passageway edges below the air gapsmay be charnfered.

The flexible plastic tube 20 is attached at its inlet end to the annularring 59 and has a construction at its outlet end permitting passage ofair therefrom while preventing passage of the coil springs 20. For thispurpose a single strand of wire 52 is stretched across and is attachedto the sleeve 54. A brass compression ferrule 56 and a standard ferrulenut 58, which is threadedly connected 'to sleeve 54, cooperate insecuring the sleeve 54 on the outlet end of the tube 20.

The operation of loading the coil springs 12 into the tube 20 is arelatively simple one. The air propelling device 16 is connected to thedischarge duct 14 from the spring forming or dispensing machine it andair is introduced through the air conduit at about eighty pounds persquare inch pressure. This creates a venturi efiect in each of theimpeller units 22 and causes high suction eifect in duct 14 and a rapidflow of air from the duct 14 through the tube 20. Each of the impellerunits 22 accelerates the passage of coil springs 12 therethrough so thatthe first of the coil springs 12 will travel to the outlet end of tube20 and each of the succeeding springs will align itself in abuttingrelation with the spring immediately preceding it. As soon as the tube,which may be about twenty five feet long, is filled, the loadingoperation will be stopped and the inlet end of the tube 29 can besuitably closed.

The tube 20 normally is rolled into a coil when being 1 filled, and itmay now be stored in this shape until there is a demand for the coilsprings 12, or it can be transported to a desired unloading destination.

Reference is now made to FIGURES 2 and 3 which show apparatus fordischarging the coil springs 12 singly from the tube 20 and propellingthem into products requiring the use of such coil springs. The one endof the tube 20 may be inserted into a source 6% of air at about twentypounds per square inch, and the other end of the tube 20 is connected tothe metering device 62 for meter ing one coil spring at a time throughthe axial passageway 64 without interrupting continuous passage of theair. For this purpose a bar 66 may be pivotally supported, and a pair ofneedles 68 and 70 are connected thereto for movement to and from saidpassageway 64 respectively on oscillating movement of said bar 66. Theneedles 68 and 70 are spaced sutficiently far apart so that the desirednumber of coil springs 12 can pass therethrough per cycle of movement ofthe bar 66. Normally, only one spring will pass per cycle.

Positioned in axial alignment with the metering device 62 is an impellerunit 72 which is constructed generally the same as the impeller units22, previously described, and therefore, the impeller unit 72 will notbe described in detail. As shown, air under pressure is introduced intothe impeller unit 72 by the conduit 74 from a source of high pressureair.

Connected to the outlet of the loading or impeller unit 72 is astainless steel tubing 76 which has its outlet positioned over a lockmember 78. The latter is supported at a station 80 for holding this orsimilar products which require such coil springs 12.

If desired, a group of such loading arrangements, as shown in FIGURE 2,may be positioned in parallel so that a number of coil springs 12 can beintroduced simultaneously into separate chambers of the lock member orproduct 78. For this purpose a fixture 89, FIGURE 3, may be used tosupport the group of parallel metering devices 62 and impeller orloading units 72.

The operation of this portion of the invention is also 4 relativelysimple. The product or lock member 78 is positioned at the station 80.The tube 20, filled with coil springs 12, is connected to the inlet endof the metering device 62, and preferably, the other end is connected toa source 60 of air at about twenty pounds per square inch pressure. Theair is introduced through the conduit 74 at about eighty pounds persquare inch pressure and may be allowed to flow continuously, or it maybe controlled so that it flows only when the metering device 62discharges a coil spring 12. The metering device 62 is then started bypivoting the bar 66 counterclockwise until needle 68 is withdrawn fromthe passageway 64 and needle 79 forms an obstruction therein. Thisallows one coil spring 12 to drop to the needle 70. The bar 66 is thenpivoted clockwise until the needles 68 and 70 have returned to theillustrated position. This allows the one coil spring 12 to pass to theimpeller unit 72 which propels the one coil spring 12 to the intendedreception chamber in the product 78 via the stainless steel tube 76.

While the invention has been described as having a plastic tube loadingapparatus and an apparatus for metering and feeding coil springs fromthe plastic tube, it will be understood that a method of operation canbe carried out which is continuous from the loading to the unloading ofthe plastic tube merely by the introduction of a transfer step of thefilled tube between these two operations.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding in sequence a series of axially aligned coilsprings into a plurality of products having chambers therein forreceiving such springs, comprising a relatively long flexible tube openat its inlet and outlet ends so as to be adapted for passage of airunder pressure therethrough, said tube being adapted to be wound in acoil and having an internal transverse cross section slightly largerthan the external diameter of said springs and having a relatively longlength so as to accommodate therein said series of springs in end-to-endrelationship; a metering device having a passageway to which the outletof said tube is connected and having means in said passageway formetering said coil springs therethrough without interrupting continuouspassage of air; an impeller unit positioned adjacent the dischargeoutlet of said metering device and including a through passagewayaligned with said discharge outlet and means therein for acceleratingpassage of each metered spring therethrough; and conduit means definingan uninterrupted flow passageway communicating with the discharge outletof said through passageway for guiding the accelerated springs to thechambers of said products.

2. Apparatus for feeding in sequence a series of axially aligned coilsprings into a plurality of products having chambers therein forreceiving such springs, comprising a relatively long flexible tube openat its inlet and outlet ends so as to be adapted for passage of airunder pressure therethrough, said tube being flexible so as to beadapted to be wound in a coil shape and having an internal transversecross section larger than the external diameter of said springs andhaving a relatively long length so as to accommodate therein said seriesof springs in abutting end-to-end relationship; a metering device havinga passageway to which the outlet end of said tube is connected andhaving means in said passageway for metering said coil springstherethrough without interrupting continuous passage of air; an impellerunit positioned adjacent the discharge outlet of said metering deviceand including 'a through passageway having an inlet end aligned withsaid discharge outlet, means forming an annular air chamber encirclingsaid through passageway, air inlet means communicating with said chamberfor introducing air under pressure into said air chamber, and an annularpassageway providing communication between said chamber and saidthroughpassageway and directed so as to discharge air at relatively highvelocity from said chamber toward the outlet end of said throughpassageway; and

5 conduit means defining an uninterrupted flow passageway 2,493,868communicating with the discharge outlet of said through 2,534,140passageway for guiding Lhe accelerated springs tothe 2,734,657 chambersof said products. 2,738,899

2,906,011 References Cited by the Examiner 3,039,531

UNITED STATES PATENTS 669,892 3/01 Bogardus 243-27 836,758 700,607 5/02Batcheiler 243-27 10 686,750 1,943,451 1/34 Needham 243-25 2,355,3118/44 Linkner 221-278 X- 2,366,448 1/45 Greene et a1. 221-297 X 6 1/50Griffin 221-278 X 12/50 Moore 221-278 X 2/56 Drese 221-278 X 3/56 Hansenet a1 221-278 X 9/59 Focht 29-211 X 6/62 Scott 221-278 X FOREIGN PATENTS10/38 France.

1/40 Germany.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

KENNETH N. LEIMER, LOUIS J. DEMBO, Examiners.

1. APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IN SEQUENCE A SERIES OF AXIALLY ALIGNED COILSPRINGS INTO A PLURALITY OF PRODUCTS HAVING CHAMBERS THEREIN FORRECEIVING SUCH SPRINGS, COMPRISING A RELATIVELY LONG FLEXIBLE TUBE OPENAT ITS INLET AND OUTLET ENDS SO AS TO BE ADAPTED FOR PASSAGE OF AIRUNDER PRESSURE THERETHROUGH, SAID TUBE BEING ADAPTED TO BE WOUND IN ACOIL AND HAVING AN INTERNAL TRANSVERSE CROSS SECTION SLIGHTLY LARGERTHAN THE EXTERNAL DIAMETER OF SAID SPRINGS AND HAVING A RELATIVELY LONGLENGTH SO AS TO ACCOMMODATE THEREIN SAID SERIES OF SPRINGS IN END-TO-ENDRELATIONSHIP; A METERING DEVICE HAVING A PASSAGEWAY TO WHICH THE OUTLETOF SAID TUBE IS CONNECTED AND HAVING MEANS IN SAID PASSAGEAWAY FORMETERING SAID COIL SPRINGS THERETHROUGH WITHOUT INTERRUPTING CONTINUOUSPASSAGE OF AIR; AN IMPELLER UNIT POSITIONED ADJACENT THE DISCHARGEOUTLET OF SAID METERING DEVICE AND INCLUDING A THROUGH PASSAGEWAYALIGNED WITH SAID DISCHARGE OUTLET AND MEANS THEREIN FOR ACCELERATINGPASSAGE OF EACH METERED SPRING THERETHROUGH; AND CONDUIT MEANS DEFININGAN UNINTERRUPTED FLOW PASSAGEWAY COMMUNICATING WITH THE DISCHARGE OUTLETOF SAID THROUGH PASSAGEWAY FOR GUIDING THE ACCELERATED SPRINGS TO THECHAMBERS OF SAID PRODUCTS.